Thanks, everybody for your stories, opinions and thoughts.
I’m still not sure what I’m going to do, though there is a lot of good advice here. I suspect I will take a while to make up my mind yet. Even if I do, I’m not sure how I will do it. Will I call? Send a letter? Show up on his doorstep. I’m not going to worry about those details right now, though. I’m going to have to try and think it over. This is one of those rare things in life that you can’t do over if it doesn’t go right, and you may not be able to go back and do later if you don’t now, you know?
What I haven’t heard though, is from any Fathers. Are there any Fathers out there who have / have not been contacted by children lost in divorce? How did it go? Would you change anything?
I’m still interested in hearing from children in this situation as well, of course.
Maybe you could send him a birthday card with a personal note or letter in it. That way, you can express your interest (among other feelings) without leaving yourself vulnerable in a face-to-face situation. It sounds as though you really want to get an adult perspective on this, therefore, I would advise to contact him in some way. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the old saying goes. Good luck.
Call him.
The worst that can happen is you’ll be proven right for not having contacted him earlier.
The best is that you can resume a relationship with your dad.
My parents got divorced when I was about 5, then a few years later my dad moved to a different city (300-ish miles away). I’d only see him about once a month (if that) for a weekend, and a couple of weeks during the summer. We’d talk on the phone at least once a week but its not quite the same. He died when I was 17 (two years ago), and now I wish I could have spent more time with him.
The fact that he’s not terminally ill is no excuse for not reestablishing contact. Like I said before, there’s a chance for a big payoff and practically no risk